BlackBerry Announces XDR Partnership with Exabeam

BlackBerry has teamed with Exabeam to announce that Exabeam Fusion SIEM and Fusion XDR are now integrated with the BlackBerry Guard 2.0 extended detection and response (XDR) managed service. Blackberry, the one-time mobile device pioneer, re-aligned its software and services business around cyber security and IoT several years ago, and has been building out portfolios in those markets.

Blackberry announced a new managed detection and response (MDR) service a couple months ago. At that time Blackberry was touting partnerships with Okta, Mimecast, Stellar Cyber, and XM Cyber. The Okta partnership supported integration of Okta identity and access capabilities with BlackBerry’s UEM endpoint management, as well as integrating Okta’s telemetry data into BlackBerry’s XDR platform.

Expanding XDR Coverage

BlackBerry positions its XDR service as focused on a prevention-first strategy. According to the company, this approach allows threats to be identified in a partner's telemetry before the threat propagates further in the environment. The Exabeam partnership furthers this strategy.

A key component of that initial announcement was integration with Cylance AI for mobile threat defense and user behavior risk analytics. This new partnership with Exabeam provides detection and response coverage beyond endpoints by integrating Cylance AI-powered BlackBerry Optics, Persona, Gateway and Protect solutions with Exabeam’s Fusion SIEM and XDR solutions. Exabeam’s security analytics and automation platform will deliver prioritized alerts and threat hunting services based on telemetry data from hundreds of network devices.

Blackberry's Cybersecurity Push

Most of BlackBerry’s revenue now derives from its cybersecurity portfolio. The company announced its Q3 FY2022 revenues this week and cybersecurity revenue was $128 million for the quarter. Growth was relatively flat for its security business, year over year, which is never a good sign for a security company. But Blackberry’s products secure more than 500 million endpoints, including over 195 million vehicles, which suggests growth is still achievable.

Exabeam, on the other hand, has had a very good year. In June it announced a $200 million investment round, which brought its valuation to $2.4 billion. It also hired Michael DeCesare as CEO and president. Previously, DeCesare had long stints as president of McAfee, and Forescout. Since coming onboard, DeCesare has hired a new Chief Operations Officer, and a new Chief Financial Officer. The company is well funded and well staffed.

Exabeam has been successfully in attracting MSSP partners, to resell its products, and currently lists more than two dozen on its web site. XDR is a high growth market that has been garnering a lot of attention from service providers looking to extend their security services offerings.